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This week I finished two HUB Challenge books. I’ve been busy with report cards and conferences, which means two late nights at work. By Friday, I was toast, just exhausted all day long.

First, I finished John Searles’ Help for the Haunted. It was almost too creepy for me, but I managed not to get too creeped out.

Goodreads Summary: It begins with a call in the middle of snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping “haunted souls” find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is different from the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the church’s red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire.

Nearly a year later, we meet Sylvie again struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter.

As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her family’s past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years.

I didn’t love this book. It felt hopeless. I can take a lot of bad stuff in a book, but I need to know that there is hope.

I also finished Branded by the Pink Triangle by Ken Setterington, which tells about persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis. A mix of historical research, first-person accounts and individual stories brings this time to life for young readers.